Paper-holder.



No. 813,594. PATENTED FEB. 27, 1906. A. E. SEXTON.

PAPER HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, 1903.

, may not be fully projected bl UNITED srA'rns PATENT OFFICE- I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1906.

Application filed December 26, 1903. Serial No. 186.732-' To (all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. SnX'roN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of lies Angeles and State of California have invented a new and usefulPaper-llolder, of which the following is a s )ecihcation.

This invention relates to certain improvements in holders for dispensing toilet-paper and the like, in which the sheets are interfolded, each sheet being centrally folded to form two leaves and each leaf being interlaced with the corresponding leaves of the sheets both above and below 1t. The holder is provided with a discharge-slot in its side, top, or bottom, and the arrangement of the sheets is such that on the withdrawal of one sheet the succeeding sheet will be partly withdrawn and held projected in the slot in convenient position to be grasped and withdrawn.

' The principal object of the invention is to so construct the discharge-plate as to facilitate the withdrawal of the sheets of paper, the plate ,being located at or forming either the side or top or bottom of the holder. These slotted d1scharg-plates are usually so constructed as to present a broad flat surface for contact with the paper, and the sheets have but little space in which to bulge, as a sheet being withdrawn moves a succeeding sheet to discharging position. To overcome this difficulty, I make the central portion of the plate with an outward bulge or curve to form a recess and broaden the throat or entrance-space to the discharge-slot,thus form ing a space in which the paper may more readily bulge during the withdrawing operation. i

A further object of the invention is to contract the width of the discharge-slot in order that the paper maybe held out in a more direct line, the edge of the sheet being projected at substantially a right an le to the plane of the discharge-plate, and tTiis is rendered possible by the enlarged or broadened throat of the slot, as hereinafter described.

A still further object of the invention is to facilitate the withdrawal of sheets which formin a notch or depression in each wa of the s ot, so that the user may more readily grasp the sheet.

A still further object of the invention is to provide for the projection of the paper in caseof failure of the feed by means of one or more feeding-rollers, having knobs outside the casin to permit convenience in turning. A still urther object of the invention is to improve and simplify the construction of holders having top discharge-openings by noviding for the adjustment of the stress 0 the sprin as the latter becomes gradually fatlgue from constant use.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of arts hereinafter described, illustrated in t e accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it bein understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In t e accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toilet-paper holder constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view of the same, drawn to an enlar ed scale and illustrating the position whic the sheets generally assume during the withdrawing operation. Fig. 3 is a view of a modified form of discharge-plate. Fig. 4 illustrates a slight modification of the notched slot-walls shown in Fig. 1. j

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figuresof the drawings.

The holder forming the subject of the present invention is desi ned to contain sheets of toilet-paper or the li e in which each sheet is folded inhalf to form two leaves, the foldlines of alternate sheets being disposed in opposite directions and the two leaves of each sheet being interlaced with the similar leaves of the sheets on each side.

In the drawings, 10 indicates a suitable holder formed of sheet metal or other material and adapted to contain the interfolded sheets, which are fed by suitable means in the direction of a discharge-slot 11. The walls of the slot are extended in order that a sheet of paper partly withdrawn may be held projected at an an le to the general plane of a plate 12, in which said discharge-slot is formed.

In holders previously constructed by me the plate 12 extended. for its fullwidth-in a -in such manner that it may plane parallel with theplane ol' the sheets and ollered an extensive surface for l'rictii-mal contact with said sheets during the withdrawing open-ition. 'lhe discharge-slot of each holder was formed direi-illy in the plate I2,'and to permit the bulge of the paper without turning it became necessary to form the slot of considerable width, and the edge of the projected sheet could not be held a sullieient distancelrom the surface ol the plate to be conveniently gras )ed by the user. 'lo overcome these dilliculties and to arrange for the necessary room for the bulging of the paper without binding' or tearing, the plate is providcd with an outward bulge or curve forming a recess 13, the walls of which may be arranged-on either straight lines, as shown in Fig. 2, or on curved lines, as shown in'l ig. 3. From edge to edge of the recess is approximately one-third of the entire width of the plate, and during the withdrawing ol" the sheet the sheet being withdrawn and the next succeeding sheet will generally assume the position shown in Fig. 2, the recess all'ording su'llicient space for the paper to bulge, while the remaining portion of the sheet beyond the edges of the recess all'ord sullicient frictional resistance to the sheets to prevent the withdrawal of more than one sheet at a time. By arranging the recess in this manner I am enabled to materially reduce the width of the discharge-slot, and the extended walls of the latter serve to project the sheet be conveniei'ltly grasped. and withdrawn.

In some cases, owing generally to some dofeet in the paper, a sheet will not be fully projcctt'd, and its withdrawal could not be accom )lished with convenience owing to the exten cd or thickened walls of the dischargeslot. To overcome this difliculty, each wall is provided.with a notch, as shown in Fig. 1, and the notches are preferably about the center of the length of the slotted Walls, so that the thumb and fin er may be conveniently inserted to grasp tile sheet, and the tractive force will be more evenly distributed than if the notches are formed at either end of the slot. This feature of the invention could also be applied without change to the discharge-slots where the walls are formed by comparatively thick strips of wood or similar material, as indicated at 16 in Fig. 4.

I In cases where the slotted discharge-plate forms the top of the paper-holder and the paper is fed outward toward the dischar epoint by means of a spring the fatigue of t e spring will lessen its stress under constant use, and it has been found during the course of many experiments that in order to secure a uniform service some provision must be made for adjusting the spring in order to maintain the impelling force constant.

In Fig. 2, 17 indicates a plate forming a support for the bottom of the bundle of paper and under this plate is a spring 18, that tends to force'the paper upward in the direction of the discharge-slot. When there is a large quantity of paper in the holder, the spring will be under greatest eonr )ression, and therefore exercise thegreatest lorce, although the friction between the uppermost sheet of paper and the inner surface of'the ilischarge-plate will remain practically the same at all times, owing to the fact thatthe weight of the paper decreases constantly as sheet alter sheet is withdrawn, and the force exerted by the spring is correspondingly lessened, owing to its increased 'length. When the holder is first placed in service and the spring is new, the sheets will be properly held against the slotted discharge-wall ol' the holder. Aftenbeing'in use for some time the spring will become fatigued and will no longer be able to press the paper with sullicient force in the direction of the dischargeslot. -When this occurs, one or more plates 20 of thin metal are placed on top of the paper-holding plate in order by increasing the weight of the spring and increasing the extent of its compression to restore the elliciency of said spring.

The delivery-slot is coiled compressionpreferably extended to one or to both of the side walls and continued downward in said walls in such manner as to expose the upper sheets of paper, as shown in Fig. 1, so that a pencil-point or similar implement may be readily inserted to catch the side edge of the upper sheet for withdrawing the first sheet when a fresh supply of paper has been added to the holder,

In order to reduce the frictional contact between the vertical walls of the holder and the paper, and thereby permit amore delicate adjustment of the paper-feeding means, a number of rods 21 are employed in order to prevent contact between the edges of the sheets and the inner surfaces of the Walls of the holder, or suitable ribs or corrugations may be emplo ed in place of said rods, as will be readily un erstood.

In some cases it may happen that the pa er will not feed properly, es ecially-when eginning to use a fresh supp y of pa er, and in order to compensate for this disa vantage a pair of rollers 23 are arranged at the to or other discharge-plate. The rollers are eld in suitable bearings in such manner that a portion of their eripheries will extend through slots 24in the casing and engage the sheets of paper at oints on opposite sides of the delivery-slot. hese rollers are preferably provided with roughened peripheries in order to more firmly engage with the paper, and near one end of each roller is a turnlng-knob for the convenience of the user.

Under ordinary circumstances the rollers will rotate as idlers without interferin with the discharge of the paper, and should the paper fail to feed from any cause or at the IIO commencement of the feeding the user may cause the topmost sheet to project from the slot by turning one or both of the rollers.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. In a holder for interfolded paper, a slotted diseharge- )late having a recess forming an enlarged t iroat for the slot, and means for forcing the paper into contactwith the inner surface of said plate.

2. In a holder for interfolded paper, a discharge-plate extending outward to form a rewas into which the paper may bulge and having a discharge-slot the walls of which are extended outward to hold the sheets projected at an angle to the plate.

3. In a holder for interfolded paper, aplate having a discharge-slot, the walls of which are of greater area than the thickness of the plate and serve to hold the sheets projected at an angle to said plate, there being lingernotches formed in said walls.

4. In a holder for interfolded paper, a casing having a top discharge-slot, a paper-supporting plate, a spring exerting upward pressure on the plate, and a plurality of removable weight-plates carried by said paper-supporting plate.

5. In a holder for interfolded paper, a easing including a wall having a discharge-slot, and a pair of rollers arranged one on each side of the slot for independent engagement with the sheets of paper.

6. In a holder for interfolded paper, a casing having a discharge-slot and provided with auxiliary slots or openings on each side thereof, and auxiliary feeding-rolls having portions of their peripheries extending through the auxiliary slots and adapted for independent engagement with the sheets of paper.

7. In a holder for interf l led paper, a casin having a discharge-slot, and a pair of ro lers disposed one on each side of the slot and adapted respectively to feed the paper in opposite directions toward. said slot.

8. In a holder for interfolded paper, a casing having a discharge-slot, and a pair of rollers havin roughened peripheries, said rollers being is osed one at each side of, but beyond the wa ls of the slot, said rollers having terminal operating-knobs.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto allixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR l SEXION Witnesses:

GEO. DE GORMO, VOLNEY E. How/nu). 

